Chapter 155: Zhou Shu is here, and fairness is served

The reason why Zhou Shu could happily watch the Law Enforcer beat up 4068 earlier, and could now converse with them amicably while even promising to gift him and his friends Heavy Bodies, was simply because he believed this person was still worth saving.

Without sufficient power, some of his ambitions might indeed look like megalomania, but having ambitions was always a good thing.

Even if one set their goal at Mount Everest and ultimately only climbed a small hill, it could still be considered a success.

Moreover, compared to the Upper-level Citizens, the Dust-level Citizens truly resembled normal human beings of flesh and blood.

Of course, in the apocalypse, this might not count as an advantage; it could even be a liability, which was why the Lighthouse had enacted the Three Major Laws, compelling everyone on the Lighthouse to "extinguish human desires" and live in a mechanical fashion.

However, just as Mark said after smashing the Hall of Dawn and "awakening," "If this is the only way to survive, what difference is there between us and corpses?" Yet, immediately after, he was instantly struck down by the Lord City Administrator.

Mark raised a challenge from an individual perspective, and the City Administrator countered from the perspective of the survival of more than ten thousand people. Neither of them was wrong; the only mistake was that the ten thousand-plus people on the Lighthouse were simply too weak.

In the apocalyptic environment of Ling Cage, weakness was the original sin!

Still, to an outsider like Zhou Shu, the radiance of human nature remained vitally important.

Because the animation was filled with flashbacks and flash-forwards, many timelines were unclear, but calculating the overall duration—excluding those "ancient flashbacks"—the plot of more than a dozen episodes spanned only eight days.

On a certain night, 4068 and the others would drink alcohol, meddle in matters that were none of their business, and subsequently be taken away by Charles. The next day, they would be brutally interrogated, after which Charles would rescue him like a savior.

Following his rescue, Charles would use fine food and the status of an Upper-level Citizen to entice him into doing his bidding, but he would refuse.

Later, Charles would use the lives of his friends as a threat—even slowly killing his "friend" right before his eyes—making him experience absolute despair. Then, he would reveal that the friend was not dead, restoring his hope, only to warn him that if he failed to perform the task, his friends would truly die.

Hitting someone with such a ruthless scheme was simply not something an average person could withstand.

To force 4068 into submission, although his friend wasn't killed, a Dust-level Citizen truly was murdered.

This showed that in Charles's eyes, Dust-level Citizens were not truly human.

Not to mention that he didn't consider Dust-level Citizens human; he genuinely believed he was the chosen one of the gods, and everyone else was merely his tools.

And now, Zhou Shu running into 4068 and the others here meant that these events had not yet occurred, or that certain circumstances had changed due to his arrival.

Regardless, 4068's future path had not yet been completely sealed, so Zhou Shu felt he was still redeemable.

Furthermore, as a native of the State of Qin and a beneficiary of the twenty-rank militarymerit peerage system, he understood all too well the importance of channels for upward mobility. The Dust-level Citizens on the Lighthouse had lived in this environment for years; while some might have grown accustomed to it, the rebellious spirit of others would only grow stronger.

Even because of the Three Major Laws of "extinguishing human nature," many Upper-level Citizens were also dissatisfied, simply lacking a catalyst to erupt.

Just like managing floods, blocking is inferior to dredging.

Now that Zhou Shu had arrived, change had arrived!

Zhou Shu had arrived, and the Lighthouse had hope!

However, the time wasn't quite right yet, because after Zhou Shu flashed his green identity card, they were dumbfounded.

Just like Mark and the others, they couldn't fathom why Zhou Shu had been classified as a Dust-level Citizen.

Of course, they were somewhat different from Mark and the others. Being fellow Dust-level Citizens, they naturally felt a closer affinity.

Especially 4068, who often felt that his talents were unrecognized by the world. Now, knowing that someone as formidable as Zhou Shu had also been classified as a Dust-level Citizen, he felt even more strongly that the Lighthouse was unfair, while simultaneously feeling a sense of regret for Zhou Shu.

Because he understood that feeling all too well.

4277 and 4079 were much the same, each possessing their own specialized skills, which was why they had gathered together to become good friends.

They treated Zhou Shu's earlier words as mere boasting, yet they still enthusiastically led him to the place he asked to find.

It wasn't far from where they lived—originally the residence of a Dust-level Citizen who had died on the surface during a mission, leaving the place abandoned.

The pigeonhole-like living quarters nearby blocked the moonlight, and with the power cut off, it was pitch black. Fortunately, 4277 produced a small flashlight to illuminate the way.

4277 had taught herself maintenance technology, and her skills were quite impressive, which was why 4068 often brought back little trinkets from the surface for her. This solar-powered flashlight was one of them.

The mechanical watch that triggered a series of problems was another, though that gadget had just been brought up and wasn't repaired yet.

Upon finding Zhou Shu's dwelling, they discovered the door was locked, but that couldn't stump them. As an excellent mechanical repair technician, picking a lock was no challenge for 4277.

However, they didn't even need to worry about that. Just as 4277 was reaching into her side pouch for a folding multi-tool, Zhou Shu pressed his hand directly against the latch, and with a "click," the lock popped open.

The three of them: "..."

We're all Dust-level Citizens, why are you so overpowered?

Well, they quickly figured it out on their own.

Not all Dust-level Citizens could be lumped together.

Before becoming a Dust-level Citizen of the Lighthouse, Zhou Shu had been a super soldier who had lived on the surface for many years and slaughtered Marsh Ridge Beasts without blinking an eye.

Meanwhile, they had been born as Lighthouse Dust-level Citizens, raised on various insect-cakes since childhood, put to work at a tender age, and besides basic skills training, all their other abilities were self-taught.

Convinced that Zhou Shu's survival capabilities far surpassed their own, they bid their farewells and headed back to rest, as a mountain of work awaited them the morrow.

The doors to the "pigeonhole" rooms were hardly proper doors at all; they were completely unsealed, and some were simply made of metal mesh. Zhou Shu's room featured a door that was half iron sheet and half iron mesh, so after sitting vacant for a long time, it was filled with dust.

That posed no difficulty for him; he simply unleashed his psychokinesis and blew every speck of dust straight out through the door.

Even when not used for combat, psychokinesis was a top-tier utility helper for daily life.

Zhou Shu gave this ability a mental thumbs-up.

However, to reach his current level of proficiency, one had to first master delicate manipulation, otherwise, it was easy to accidentally "throw out" the furniture along with the debris.

With the dust cleared, the bedroom was still somewhat crude and messy, but it was infinitely better than sleeping directly on the ground as he had days ago.

At the very least, there were no storms here, there was a bed, and he had just enjoyed a proper, hearty meal.

Lying on a bed that hadn't been slept in for years, Zhou Shu mapped out his agenda for the following day.

Tomorrow, he would first cooperate with the archivist Gordon to record some information, and then he would need to get to work. However, sweeping floors was out of the question; since he had provided certain information, he naturally needed to acquire some in return—that was only fair.

He had come here precisely in pursuit of fairness!

First, he would inspect the rigid, official records, and after reviewing the data, he would seek out Jessica and Dr. Carrie for verification. Otherwise, if he went to them first without knowing whether what they said was true, it certainly wouldn't be fair.

It wasn't just fairness of this sort he sought; he intended to claim an even greater share of justice.

Having mapped out his plans, Zhou Shu drifted off to sleep. This was the first sound sleep he had enjoyed in the seven days since entering this world.

While he slept, however, in a certain human settlement on the surface, matters concerning him were still unfolding.

This place resembled a massive cavern, or perhaps an underground space, yet its interior was entirely propped up by a colossal set of skeletal remains, signaling that it was no ordinary space.

The location was overgrown with glowing blue crystals, dotted with pools of water emitting a soft azure radiance, while dwellings constructed from various materials were scattered like stars across the expanse.

Aside from these blue lights, there were fissures in the rock walls through which cool moonlight filtered in, accompanied by unextinguished illumination.

Anyone from the Lighthouse would undoubtedly gasp at such a waste of energy.

There were quite a few people here as well; despite the late hour on the surface, the inhabitants remained fully active.

Some were wielding iron picks to harvest the blue crystals, others were using heavy equipment to hammer and forge the enormous skeletal remains, and several individuals wearing heavily punk-styled apparatuses sat by the water pools, trailing long cables from their headgear directly into the water.

If the Lighthouse belonged to a conventional technological society, then this place belonged to a Xianxia-punk society.

This was the home of Bai Yuekui's team.